This invention relates to aircraft control in general and more particularly to an improved system to help pilots of commercial airlines operate their aircraft to obtain maximum performance, particularly in terms of fuel economy.
Presently, flight crew must utilize a plurality of charts and tables carrying out complex interpolations in order to get an idea of proper power settings, altitude, rate of climb, etc., in order to determine how to obtain best performance from their aircraft. These tables, of course, require the flight crew gathering data such as aircraft gross weight, altitude, air temperature, true air speed, mach number, etc., all of which is time consuming. As a result, quite often commercial aircraft are not operated at maximum efficiency resulting in the consumption of large amount of fuel which could otherwise be saved. At the present time with the shortage of fuel and its high cost, it is particularly important that all possible steps be taken to economize on fuel consumption. Not only does this contribute to overall energy conservation, but from the standpoint of the operator of the aircraft it can produce substantial savings.
Thus, it becomes apparent that there is a need for an improved system for informing the pilot as to the optimum operating conditions.